The Onkyo 807 is considered a "midrange" receiver but is definitely has high end features with high end sound. I will start off first by saying it definitely reminds me of when I first hooked up the legendary 805 receiver. Just recently having the Denon 4310 as well as other newer Onkyo models allowed me to compare it to the latest. So what does the 807 bring to the table?

Besides 135 watts per channel and two Subwoofer outs plenty! You get the new PLIIz Height sound along with Audyssey's DSX. Also DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD processing. SiriusXM presets, Audyssey MultiEQ, and excellent intuitive OSD, the latest Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24 Bit DACs and two TI (Aureus) 32 Bit processing DSPs. Not to mention my two biggest surprises, Ethernet UPDATING and scaling with video adjustments with Faroudja's DCDi Cinema Enhancement. Let's start with that...

I didn't expect the scaling to 1080p to be as good as it is. In the pics below you will see some 1080i material but definitely take note of the last few Seinfeld pics which were in 480i. I had the 807 send 1080p out for all those pics. Not bad at all! I was happy when I noticed you could also adjust the picture while still being able to see the picture. Adjustments included: Game mode, Zoom mode, Separate Adjust modes (1-3), Picture mode (Video, Auto, 3:2, 2:2), Edge Enhancement, Noise Reduction, Brightness, Contrast, Hue and Saturation. This is more than enough to tweak the image to an optimal setting. As you can see in th epics below HD movies looked sharp. Football looked colorful and the show Get Out had plenty of eye candy!

My other surprise. Onkyo has officially made Ethernet UPDATING for their receivers a reality. Within minutes of hooking up the 807 I was able to do its first firmware update. It lasted about 20 minutes. Not bad and I am very happy that the days of hunting Onkyo firmware updates is finally over!

So how does the 807 sound? Well with the vast amount of sound options all I can say is... Mid range receiver my ass! This receiver can handle any theater or room and still not break a sweat. Onkyo is going to have a hard time selling their newer high end receivers over the 807. It is that good. I really liked the PLIIz Height sound. I started with Jurassic Park and when the thunder started it absolutely roared in the Heights. Again, if you have the capability for Height speakers and get a newer receiver that does it you have to add them. It is a huge oversight if you do not. Since I have added Height to my theater I can honestly say 11 out of 14 guests (who heard them here) have added it to their own set ups. The others are still planning to! For more on Height read my other review... The Blu ray sound of DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD (with and without Height added) sounded terrific. Movies came alive and had plenty of impact in my theater. More than once I felt my jaw dropping! The Strangers had a huge IMPACT on the Height speakers. Everyone jumped in my theater when a smoke alarm detector suddenly went off into the Height speakers! Knocking and other scary noises became much more immersive. Watching the movie when it first came out without the Height speakers seemed less scary. Watching The Strangers in a completely darkened room with PLIIz speakers will be neck hair rasing! Back to DirecTV... Using Onkyo's TV Logic sound made me feel like I was in the Seinfeld audience. Movies also were impressive. As was the show True Blood. Voices were very distinct with creepy clarity. I say creepy because even my German Shepard thought someone else was on our theater! So how was the set up?

I added a few pics of the set up screens. Notice the cool interface in the pics. I wouldn't have expected the 807 to have these high end OSD features. Yes of course you get volume (even when doing 1080p/24 Blu ray titles on screen) but also many more. All at the simple touch of a button (Display) you can see HDMI res in and out, audio coming in and what sound mode you are in going out. Impressive!

The remote (pic below) is nice and down to the point. It also fits comfortably in your hand. Like all the Onkyo remotes you get direct sound mode buttons and input buttons. The most impressive button is the Audio. Tap that button and you can quickly switch Dynamic Volume, Re-EQ, AV sync, and many more. All options appear on your screen.

Using the mic (which is included) I was able to Audyssey within 20 minutes or so. It was very accurate again and I only had to tweak the levels slightly using my old fashioned sound meter. Audyssey truly makes life much easier. The 807's interface (pic below) also makes it easy.

Final thoughts... So how good is the 807? Using it both as a receiver and or a pre-pro I would say it should be fine for at least 3 to 5 years. Especially since you can update it easily over the Ethernet connection. The 807 has now officially replaced the 805 as the absolute best bang for the buck receiver on the market. It easily beats all receivers below it and many above it. You get terrific sound, great features and very good scaling which can be dialed in to best match your display. If you are looking for the best receiver for 1K and under then the 807 fits your bill...

Sounds like a nice step back in the right direction after the SR806 downgraded a lot of what made the SR805 great... but I'll save my final judgement for when I see some amplifier bench tests. I was hoping ISF (or at least input-specific video adjustments) would make its way down the line, but seeing the DACS upgraded instills some confidence. The THX Select2 certification makes me think, though, that the amps may be on the same level as the SR806... not bad by any means, but not the brute-force of the SR805.

You can set up each input differently. I would take the Height and DSX sound over the 805. Not to mention Dynamic vol, THX loudness, the much better Faroudja scaling and far superior interface. But that's just me.

How would you rate the preamp quality compared to higher end onkyos such as the 905/906, Denon 4310 and the Onlyo 886 pre/pro you've tried ?

Also I downloaded the manual and it isn't clear if it has pre-outs for the wide and height channels. I presume you use the pre-outs for zone 2 and zone 3 similar to the speaker connections but the manual doesn't seem to confirm this. Is this something you can shed some light on ?

I take it from reading the manual that the AVR's integrated amp is still rated only for 7 channels at any one time. Hence the SP Layout button allows you to choose between Front Wide/Height or Surr Back.

So can the 807's Zone2/3 line pre-outputs be re-configured for height and wide front speakers so if you have external power amps, you can have ALL 11 channels active at the same time?

How would you rate the preamp quality compared to higher end onkyos such as the 905/906, Denon 4310 and the Onlyo 886 pre/pro you've tried ?

Also I downloaded the manual and it isn't clear if it has pre-outs for the wide and height channels. I presume you use the pre-outs for zone 2 and zone 3 similar to the speaker connections but the manual doesn't seem to confirm this. Is this something you can shed some light on ?

I would say it is better than the 876, right there with the 906 and since the Denon does not have THX Loudness I would probably choose the 807 over it. Seriously. I think Denon made a mistake by not including THX. Even their new 4810 so far is looking like it will not have it. Not to say the 4310 is a slouch, I am a big fan of it. Especially its scaling. If I could combine the 4310 features with some of the 807 I could make the perfect receiver!

I take it from reading the manual that the AVR's integrated amp is still rated only for 7 channels at any one time. Hence the SP Layout button allows you to choose between Front Wide/Height or Surr Back.

So can the 807's Zone2/3 line pre-outputs be re-configured for height and wide front speakers so if you have external power amps, you can have ALL 11 channels active at the same time?

Sadly, that is the 807s biggest downfall. We need true 9 channel receivers. When using it as a pre-pro I would have my Height speakers plugged directly into the 807's speaker terminals. And of coure use the pre outs to my AMP. The other Onkyo high end models will be 9 channel as will Denon's new 4810. You are right about the zone assignment. The funny thing is even when you do Audyssey it makes its test sounds come out of the surr backs and Heights at the same time. I will play more with that today and post back...

Great review. I will still be holding onto my 805 but Onkyo appears to be heading in a good direction with the future 800 line. Height Channels seam really cool but I cannot integrate them in my current room. The other changes from the 805 to 807 just aren't enough for me to up yet.

I like the better Video control/calibration. The one feature I would love to have is the Network ability. My system has workarounds but internet radio would be nice to have in an AVR.

Looks like a very solid product. Power will be fine unless you are driving 4 ohm speakers, which then you may have a problem. If you have 6 or 8 ohm, 87db or higher, I wouldn't worry. Even if it only hits 90w all channels driven that is much more than 95% of users will need.

Great review. I will still be holding onto my 805 but Onkyo appears to be heading in a good direction with the future 800 line. Height Channels seam really cool but I cannot integrate them in my current room. The other changes from the 805 to 807 just aren't enough for me to up yet.

I like the better Video control/calibration. The one feature I would love to have is the Network ability. My system has workarounds but internet radio would be nice to have in an AVR.

Looks like a very solid product. Power will be fine unless you are driving 4 ohm speakers, which then you may have a problem. If you have 6 or 8 ohm, 87db or higher, I wouldn't worry. Even if it only hits 90w all channels driven that is much more than 95% of users will need.

You can set up each input differently. I would take the Height and DSX sound over the 805. Not to mention Dynamic vol, THX loudness, the much better Faroudja scaling and far superior interface. But that's just me.

Besides, 135 watts per channel is nothing to sneeze at.

I'll wait to see the bench tests before I take this as fact... The SR806 had the same ratings as the SR805 but the amp section (among other things) was a notable step down (especially driving 4ohm loads). Also, the SR805's niche was higher-end audio features without the associated cost of better video scaling... I'd really like to see something fill that void again. The step down to THX Select2 could be an indicator of amp performance or it could just be used to differentiate more clearly from the upcoming NR1007.

Amplifier bench tests, along with a few pieces of info on the video processing (mainly passing BTB and WTW), will be what may push me in one direction or the other on this one.

I'll wait to see the bench tests before I take this as fact... The SR806 had the same ratings as the SR805 but the amp section (among other things) was a notable step down (especially driving 4ohm loads). Also, the SR805's niche was higher-end audio features without the associated cost of better video scaling... I'd really like to see something fill that void again. The step down to THX Select2 could be an indicator of amp performance or it could just be used to differentiate more clearly from the upcoming NR1007.

Amplifier bench tests, along with a few pieces of info on the video processing (mainly passing BTB and WTW), will be what may push me in one direction or the other on this one.

If it hadn't been for the SR806, I probably wouldn't feel this way. It was just such a downgrade in areas important to me (power supply, amp power, DACs) along with the poor implementation of the DCDi video processing (doesn't pass BTB or WTW). I'd much rather see video processing sacrificed to basic transcoding/deinterlacing than having a poor 1080i/1080p implementation... I'd also rather see the focus on audio quality than tacked-on features. I don't know that the NR807 falls into these categories, but I feel like the SR806 did, and that makes me leery until I see some hard data. Your review, however, makes it things look very promising.

If it hadn't been for the SR806, I probably wouldn't feel this way. It was just such a downgrade in areas important to me (power supply, amp power, DACs) along with the poor implementation of the DCDi video processing (doesn't pass BTB or WTW). I'd much rather see video processing sacrificed to basic transcoding/deinterlacing than having a poor 1080i/1080p implementation... I'd also rather see the focus on audio quality than tacked-on features. I don't know that the NR807 falls into these categories, but I feel like the SR806 did, and that makes me leery until I see some hard data. Your review, however, makes it things look very promising.

I agree with you on the 806. I was disappointed to. That's why I am very happy with the two steps forward the 807 has taken. I am also happy the days of passing out firmware updates is coming to an end.

When using it as a pre-pro I would have my Height speakers plugged directly into the 807's speaker terminals. And of coure use the pre outs to my AMP.

My concern is that even with external power amps, it would still be limited to 7.1 at any one time, and you have to chose whether you want 5.1 + which extra 2 channels to run (height/width or back) and you can only use SP Layout to choose which one to enable

The manual isn't quite specific abt this

I really want an AVR that can drive all 11.1 DSX/IIz channels :P

I can live with the AVR having only 7 channels of amplification, as long as it allows me to use the pre-outs to gain access to all of the 11.1

My concern is that even with external power amps, it would still be limited to 7.1 at any one time, and you have to chose whether you want 5.1 + which extra 2 channels to run (height/width or back) and you can only use SP Layout to choose which one to enable

The manual isn't quite specific abt this

I really want an AVR that can drive all 11.1 DSX/IIz channels :P

I can live with the AVR having only 7 channels of amplification, as long as it allows me to use the pre-outs to gain access to all of the 11.1

You can use the pre outs but I am with you. I want a true 9.1 or 11.1 receiver at the end of the day. I am excited to finally do one with Height here hopefully next month.

Like others have said, I still think I'll hang onto my 805. But to be fair the 805 has probably by far been the best bang for buck unit in the history of the modern AVR.

Reasons I still like the 805 over this:
1) MultEQ XT instead of the lower MultEQ.
2) I listen at higher volumes(not reference), DynamicEQ usefullness is directed more at lower listening levels.
3) PLIIz stikes me as a gimmick. I don't feel I can trust a 'real-time' algorithm to accurately place audio in height channels. Now if someone encodes with discrete height channels then I have no problem with it.
4) Truly an Ultra2 piece, unlike the 806. At least the 807 was correctly labeled as a Select2 piece.
5) Vast majority of content I watch in my HT is native HD (HD cable and Blu-ray), so I prefer the video over HDMI to be untouched.

Now I did just purchase a Denon AVR2809($830+tx) for someone I know. I got a good deal but not great considering Amazon just closed out on its sister unit, the AVR989, for $550. But it still was significantly under the $1200 MSRP.

Do I keep the Denon unit that has MultEQ XT, DynamicVolume, DynamicEQ or do I return it for the 807? If it had not been for the negative view of the 806 I might have gone the Onkyo route again.

Like others have said, I still think I'll hang onto my 805. But to be fair the 805 has probably by far been the best bang for buck unit in the history of the modern AVR.

Reasons I still like the 805 over this:
1) MultEQ XT instead of the lower MultEQ.
2) I listen at higher volumes(not reference), DynamicEQ usefullness is directed more at lower listening levels.
3) PLIIz stikes me as a gimmick. I don't feel I can trust a 'real-time' algorithm to accurately place audio in height channels. Now if someone encodes with discrete height channels then I have no problem with it.
4) Truly an Ultra2 piece, unlike the 806. At least the 807 was correctly labeled as a Select2 piece.
5) Vast majority of content I watch in my HT is native HD (HD cable and Blu-ray), so I prefer the video over HDMI to be untouched.

^^ +1

I have an Integra DTR-7.8 which is basically the same as your 805. Ain't nobody taking that beast from me.

Like others have said, I still think I'll hang onto my 805. But to be fair the 805 has probably by far been the best bang for buck unit in the history of the modern AVR.

When you consider some folks were getting refurbs from AC4L on eBay for $499 - 30% live.com cash back = $350, I think you're right that the SR805 has been one of the absolute best values going for quite awhile. Even at its original MSRP and original street price it was a great deal. The fact that it's still as sought after as it is says a lot.

What made it such a great value for many was that it put all of its eggs in quality audio (amp, dacs, power supply, codec support) with basic but useful video processing (transcoding, deinterlacing). The SR806 sacrificed so much to include somewhat more advanced video processing.

The NR807 looks to be taking big steps back in the right direction. The only specified deficiency I see is the Audyssey version... they amp bench tests and BTB/WTW video pass through are the big things I want to see confirmed.

You mentioned you have ( or tested ) the Denon 4310. I'm trying to decide between the 4310 or the 807. The 807 has all the main features I need, but I also wanted to have the ipod and HD radio features. I can add these to the 807 with the two docks, but I wondered if a person could then output these to zone 2? I would ask the same question about the 4310. Those features are built in, but are they output to zone 2?

You mentioned you have ( or tested ) the Denon 4310. I'm trying to decide between the 4310 or the 807. The 807 has all the main features I need, but I also wanted to have the ipod and HD radio features. I can add these to the 807 with the two docks, but I wondered if a person could then output these to zone 2? I would ask the same question about the 4310. Those features are built in, but are they output to zone 2?

Thanks

Mark

Just had the 4310 here. I believe you could send the outs to all the zones from the iPOD docks. Both are very good receivers and both will get the job done. For the money the 807 is the better deal but still it is much easier to assign the A and B surrounds (Height and Surrounds) on the 4310.